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Wed, Nov 19 2008 Posted by: Rob Moody
One of the biggest factors contributing to the success of the NOLA100 project has been volunteer labor. I am intimately connected with NOLA100, but volunteer labor is a major factor in the success of affordable-housing projects all over this country.
Building is expensive. There’s labor, materials, finishes, and knowledge, and that’s just scratching the surface. All of it costs a mint, or an arm and a leg—pick your metaphor. Further driving up the bill is the current global economic crisis. I’ve seen firsthand how college kids, just-out-of-college kids, and altruistic individuals and groups are making programs like Habitat for Humanity, AmeriCorps, and NOLA100 work.
Knowing the volunteers are the driving force behind programs like NOLA100 was a major factor (if not the major factor) while my team and I drafted our prescriptions for NOLA100 greenovations.
We recommended arming volunteers with buckets of low-VOC duct sealants (such as Great Stuff), then mobilizing them to attack any and all holes in and around the ductwork, the walls, the floors, the roof, and the windows. With the training we provided, the project managers and volunteers could locate problem areas in the project homes and seal them.
The volunteers sealed holes in and around the sheathing, bottom and top plates, windows, doors, and more. They identified the vulnerable spots in ductwork where trunks meet up with flex ducts, ducts to registers, and the air handlers themselves. With little cost in materials, there is a great return on investment transferred directly to the homeowners.
The Hope Has a Face Foundation did a phenomenal job managing, housing, and coordinating NOLA100’s many volunteers. They housed volunteers in a privately owned building that used to be an airplane hangar and also served as temporary dorms for the Ninth Ward. The hangar will become a community center after the project, a bonus for the Katrina-devastated neighborhood.
I'm heading back to New Orleans this month to begin another chapter of green-building work. Stay tuned for developments.
Editor’s note: At FineHomebuilding.com, we understand the vital role volunteers play in building durable, affordable houses in communities all over the country. That's why we put together a special collection of our best articles focused on the building basics every volunteer should know before rolling up his or her sleeves and getting to work.
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